Cops Say Man Who Claimed Bible Saved Him From Bullets Made Up Crazy Lie

A few months ago, many of us read a miraculous story about a bus driver from Ohio named Ricky Wagoner who told police he was shot, stabbed, and robbed by three African-American teens, and that his copy of the Bible -- which was in a shirt pocket -- actually "caught" the bullets and saved his life. Even some non-believers out there couldn't help but shake their heads and think, Well, that's one heck of a crazy, amazing coincidence.

Well, God may work in mysterious ways, but as it turns out, this wasn't one of them. Wagoner reportedly lied about the entire thing.

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There was a Bible involved in the incident -- a copy of "The Message," a contemporary translation of the Good Book -- and there was a knife and even a gun. But the man reportedly made up the part about the teen thugs, which, you may recall, is a pretty major component of the story.

Instead, cops say, Wagoner stabbed himself in the arms and then shot himself in the arm and placed the Bible on the ground, where he shot at it two times.

After the "crime" took place, the man called police and reported a sort-of thought-out story: he claimed that after his bus had broken down because of an electrical problem, he was attacked by three black teens whose faces were covered by bandanas. He even included dialogue in his report, saying one teen told another, "Shoot a polar bear if you want to be all the way in the club," which is supposedly slang for "shoot a white person if you want to be part of our gang."

But there were a few major holes in his story, cops say.

For one thing, Wagoner weighs 320 pounds. Despite the fact that he claimed he ran 200 to 300 feet to get away from his attackers, police say he didn't sound at all winded on the call or surveillance tape. There's also a little thing called a medical examination that thwarted the man's attempts to be a victim. Doctors say his knife wounds are self-inflicted hesitation wounds and not the kind you get while trying to defend yourself from a vicious attack.

Investigators only found Wagoner's DNA and blood at the scene of the crime, despite his claims that he stabbed one of the teens in self-defense. And a surveillance video from the man's bus caught the sound of five different gunshots, not the three that Wagoner said were fired.

This man has not been charged with a crime but is likely going to lose his job -- after working for the Regional Transit Authority for 10 years.

Why would Wagoner make up this entire story? Was he just itching for attention? And given the fact that the police department and a medical staff wasted precious time investigating what they believe is a made-up crime, I can't imagine why Wagoner isn't being held responsible for his irresponsible and selfish actions.

Do you think Wagoner should be charged with a crime if his claims really aren't true? Did you believe his story when you first heard about it?